It took a long time, but Lt. Col. Hugh Andrew finally has his Legion of Honor medal.

Andrew, 92, a former Denver resident and Denver Post carrier, on March 26 in Washington, D.C, received the French Legion of Honor medal for his World War II service. He was one of 14 to receive the award that day.

Andrew said it took seven months to hear he would receive the medal after applying, and another few months before the ceremony took place. And this nearly 70 years after the end of World War II.

“It did take a long time,” he said.

The medal is awarded to eligible soldiers who served in key battles in France in World War II.

Soldiers had to serve in any of the battles in Normandy, Provence, Ardennes and Northern France. Service in one of the battles is all that was necessary, but Andrew was credited in serving in all four.

Growing up in Denver at 28th Avenue and Race Street, Andrew graduated from Manual High School in 1939. He served in the Army Air Corps in World War II aboard a B-17 bomber. He returned to Denver until 1951 when he was stationed in the Philippines.

His sister, Eileen Andrew Goetz, still resides in Denver and made the trip to Washington to see her brother awarded his medal.

“He is a very fine person. He was wonderful to my mother and me,” Goetz said. “We’re pretty proud of him.”

Andrew, who now lives in a senior community in Gaithersburg, Md., said he found out about the award from another resident of his community who encouraged him to apply after reading some of his war stories in the community newspaper.

Andrew said he was honored to receive the award and that he didn’t realize the significance of his role in the battles while it was happening.

“When you’re in a B-17 at 25,000 feet, the battle is 5 miles below on the ground. It’s a hands-off experience,” he said.

Still, he said it was enlightening to speak to some of the other medal winners.

“I was sort of humbled to talk to some of the guys who were on the ground,” he said. “As far as I was concerned, they had a much tougher time than I did.”

I report on Denver and South Jefferson County for the YourHub section. I started here in August 2011, coming over from Colorado Community Newspapers. In addition to reporting, I've been an active percussion teacher in the metro area since 2001. I've taught at Lois Lenski Elementary School in Littleton, and too many high schools to count. Currently, I teach the percussion ensemble at Golden High School. And I've been a member of the Denver Broncos Stampede drumline since 2003.

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